Inclined Planes and Levers
What to do!
1. Read the information. 2. Create an experiment to show all planes and levers in action! |
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Inclined Plane
An inclined plane is a flat surface that is at an angle to the load. This type of ‘machine’ has no parts that move.
An example of an inclined plane is a ramp for wheelchairs. The inclined plane of the ramp makes it easier for the person in the wheelchair to move up into a building. The steeper the slope of the inclined plane, the more effort it takes to move the person in the wheelchair up the slope. Some other examples of inclined planes include:
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Lever
A lever is a rigid bar that rotates around a fixed point. This balancing point is called the fulcrum. A lever uses a force (or effort) to make the load move.
There are different types of levers, depending on where the load, the effort, and the fulcrum (balancing point) are positioned. For this reason, levers are classified into 3 separate groups: Class 1, Class 2, and Class 3.
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Levers in balance
A see-saw is actually a lever with a fulcrum (balancing point) in the middle(see Diagram 7). Think about a see-saw with two people sitting at different distances from the fulcrum. If one person is twice as heavy as the other, the lighter person must sit further away from the fulcrum than the heavier person for the see-saw to be balanced.
Once balanced, it requires very little force for each person to push the see-saw up and down with their legs. |